Clutch type roller shade



19241- w. M. HI-CKSY 2,253,520

CLUTCI-LTYPE ROLLER SHADE Filed Sept 28, 1940 Wham/fame f/fchs INVENTOR ATTORN Patented Aug. 26, 1941 UNITED STATS ATENT OFFICE CLUTCH TYPE ROLLER SHADE William Morse Hicks, Cincinnati, Ohio 7 Application September 28, 1940, Serial No; 358,909

12 Claims.

1 n This invention relates to a clutch type roller shade, such as might find application in the art of window shades, or in the art of curtains of various types.

An object of the invention is to provide means for'moun'ting a sheet-like web upon a roller, in suchj'fa'shion that the web will wear a fixed relationship to the roller so as to rotate therewith, the use of tacks, clamps, or other fasteners being entirely eliminated from the structure in order that the mounting or fastening means will not pierce or mutilate the web material, or so mark it as to'cause'defaceme'nt at the mounting means. Another object of the invention is to provide means for mounting a web upon a roller, without piercing or mutilating the web, or otherwise defacing it, with the advantage that such web will always remain presentable for attachment to a roller in a reversed position-that is, the web maybe'suppo'rted by either'end upon the roller without revealing any marks indicating that the web had once beensusperided previously from itsopposite end.- N 7 Another object of the invention is to provide means .for the mounting of a reversible shade I or web, which means facilitates and expedites the mounting and replacement of webs upon rollers, so that any inexperienced or unskilled person may quickly and accurately'mount a shade web upon a roller without likelihood of effecting a poor or unsatisfactory installation.

Another object is to provide means whereby the stated advantages arerealized and which means are extremely simple, durable, and inexpensive. I

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

' Fig. 1 is an elevational View of a roller for the mounting of shades or webs, and embodying the means of the present invention.

'Fig. 2 is an enlarged end View taken on line 2-'2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing in end elevation a reversible shade or web to which the invention is particularly applicable.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged end elevation of the Fig. 2 structure, with a web of Fig. 3 type mounted thereon.

Fig. 5 is van end view ofa modification of Fig. 2;

In the mounting of shades or webs upon rollers, it has been customary in the past to apply means,'such as tacks, clips, or adhesives to the roller inorder to preclude slippage of the web relative to the roller when the web is wound and unwound. The use ofsuch devices usually resulted in disfiguration, def acement or mutilation of the web at the lineof attachment to the roller, so that the attempt to reverse the web suspension at the 'roll'er invariably presented unsightly marks at the free lower-end of the web unless the web end were severed orsheared 01f where mutilated. This not only shortened the Web, but it also resulted in-difilculties of rem'ounting, due to inability of an unskilled person to squarely shear off the mutilated end of the web. Moreoverit was not uncommon for the web to tear away from its fastening means at the roller, causing conside'rable inconvenience to-the user or repairman.

All of the disadvantages and insufliciencies of the prior structures'h'avebeen obviated by means of the p'resentfinvention, which so advance this art "as to be revolutionary in character. A detailed description of the invention follows, with reference to the'accompanying drawing. The character 5 indicates a cylindrical shade rollerj'which maybe of the conventional spring type disclosed in the Collins Patent 1,949,356, dated February 27, 1934. Other types of rollers, of course, might be utilized in connection with the invention, the understanding being that the roller need not contain a spring within it if other means are provided for rotating the roller. In the conventional type of shade roller, the character 6 may indicate a winding spindlefc-r the inner spring, having the customary clutch dogs as disclosed'in the Collins patent mentioned. At the opposite end of the roller there may be provided a stationary axle stud or pin 1 to be received in a bracket.

' At 8 is indicated a clutch element, which may be an expander in the form of a curved resilient sheet fixed eccentrically to the'cylin'drical roller in the manner illustrated by Fig. 2. The fastening edge or the mounting edge 9 of the clutch element may be disposed lengthwise along theroller surface in substantial parallelism with the axis of the roller. While it is immaterial how the edge 9 is fixed to the roller, the accompanying drawing suggests the use of tacks or other fasteners l0 driven through the margin of the element and into the body of the roller. As an auxiliary fixing agent, a coating of adhesive I2 may be utilized for the same purpose. It should be understood that either of the means indicated at H] or I2 may be employed as a sole fixing expedient in securing the anchorage margin of the clutch element to the roller.

It is importantto note that the clutch element has a freeedge I3 which preferably is parallel to the fixed edge 9 although spaced from the surface of the roller. The clutch element 8, which has been referred to also as an expander, is curved on a radius which is greater than the radius of the roller so as to assure extension of the free edge.l3 away from the roller surface. The part 8 preferably is a preformed element, and may be fabricated from any stiff sheet material having the characteristic of resiliency, such as cardboard, fibre board, cellulosic material, metal, or any other type of material which is suitable for performing the desired clutching action that will be described presently.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, I4 indicates a shade or web of paper, fabric or other flexible sheet material, which is hemmed at its upper end as indicated at I5 to provide a loop of such size as will permit insertion of the roller and its attached clutch element therein. The loop or hem preferably is formed by turning inwardly the free edge I6 of the sheet, and then applying a line of stitching II through the resultant three thicknesses I4, I6 and I8 of the web. As will be observed as the description proceeds, the hem or loop I5 will not necessarily be so constricted in size as to snugly fit the roller and its attached clutching element, it being one of the features of the invention to adapt the shade hem or loop for the reception of different diameter-sizes of rollers customarily encountered in the industry.

Roller diameters are known to vary one eighth inch more or less, in practice. The clutch type roller of this invention, however, will accommodate shade hems having even greater variations.

To place the web in operative relationship to the clutch type roller 5, it is necessary only to manually contract the clutch element 8 upon the exterior of the roller, and then slip the hem or loop of the web over the roller and the clutch element until the web is centered upon the roller between its ends. The thicknesses of web material in the region of the transverse line of stitching I'I should be disposed within the space existing between the fixed and free edges 9 and I3 of the clutch element or expander 8, with the outermost ply of the web depending from the roller without formation of a crease along the transverse line of stitching I I. This will result in the formation of a step or ledge I9 when the fold of the hem is advanced into abutment against the freely shiftable edge I3 of the clutch element or expander 8. Now if the web I4 of Fig. 4 be drawn downwardly by a pull applied at the lower end of the web, the ledge or step I9 backed by the four thicknesses of web material at the seam of the hem, will impinge against the free edge I3 and possibly move it in clockwise direction about the roller surface so as to expand the clutch element leaving a space 2I between it and the roller surface. The greater the force of the pull downwardly upon the web, the greater will be the tendency of the clutch element to expand within the hem for frictionally engaging the hem interior to increase the resistance of the hem to sliding over the outer surface of the clutch element. It should be noted that this expanding action of the clutch element will occur whether the hem of the web fits snugly or loosely about the roller and its clutch element.

If desired, the clutch element may have its outer surface scored, pimpled, or otherwise roughened to increase the frictional gripping power upon the inner wall of the hem. The clutch element may extend either along the full length of the roller or along a portion thereof,

and it should be understood that the clutch element need not be in one piece but may be composed of two or more lengths of flexible material mounted in alined or mis-alined relationship upon the roller surface. By preference, through not of necessity, the thickness of the clutch element might approximate the combined thickness of four plies of the Web material so that the seam portion of the hem will be included within the maximum diameter of the roller as established by the clutch element when contracted about the roller. Under these circumstances, the web will Wind or unwind about the roller without any liability of the seam or the transverse line of stitching I1 marking the shade or web at intervals along its length.

In the preferred form of the invention, the lower end of the web as well as the upper end, is provided with a hem I 50 that corresponds with the hem I5. The seam elements I40, I60, I10 and I accordingly will correspond to the parts I4, I6, I! and I8 at the upper end of the web. This construction results in a reversible web which may be turned end for end in suspending it from the roller. Thus when one end of the shade or web becomes soiled by reason of long or continued usage, it may be slipped from the roller and turned upside down in order to present the clean surface to view. Either hem is adapted to receive a pull strip or bar indicated at 22. Particular attention is directed to the fact that reversal of the shade so as to suspend it from either hem may be accomplished within a few seconds time, and there will be found no tack holes or mutilations in the hem which had previously encircled the roller. It should be appreciated also that skill on the part of the person effecting the reversal of the shade is not required for assuring a perfect and accurate suspension, since the hem itself automatically adjusts to exact parallelism with the axis of the roller and the free edge I3 of the clutch element when the Web is applied to the roller. Accordingly, the inventlon assures web mounting that will likewise cause the web to wind and unwind straight and accurately about the roller.

The various advantages and functions mentioned above are inherent in a shade assembly WhlCh includes the modified form of roller and clutch element of Fig. 5, as well as in that illustrated by the other drawing figures. In the Fig. 5 modification, the only difference over the Fig. 2 structure is that the clutch element 80 has been fixed to the roller along a line which is intermediate the edges and I30 of the clutch element. In this form of the invention, the clutch element edges 90 and I30 are both free edges like the edge I3 of Fig. l. The hemmed web may be slipped over the roller assembly in Fig. 5 in exactly the manner illustrated by Fig. 4, and the relationship of the seam and stitched line to the free edges of the clutch element, and to the space between the free edges, will be found identical to the relationship indicated in Fig. 4. As in the other form of the invention, the clutch element 80 may be fixed to the roller 50 by means of a strip or coating of adhesive I20, or by means of tacks or fasteners I00, either separately or in combination. As will be understood, the clutch element 80 extends lengthwise of the roller, with its free edges disposed in substantial parallelism with the roller axis. Whether or not the fastening means I00 or I20 is located at equal distance from the edges 90 and I30 is entirely immaterial to the invention.

The clutch elements may have their corners 23 and 24 slightly rounded, if desired, to facilitate application of the hem to the roller:assembly. It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in the structuraldetails of the device may be made, within, the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. Y

What is claimed is:

1. A shade structurev comprising a roller and a web,- and means in the form of an-overrunning clutch precluding movement of the web relative to the roller at least in one direction of roller rotation.

2. A shade structure comprising a roller and a web, said web including a cylindrical hem to receive the roller, and a clutching element within the hem and between it and the roller, for precluding rotation of the roller within the hem in at least one direction of rotation.

3. A shade structure comprising a roller and a web, said web including a hem to receive the roller, and an expander fixed to the roller, adapted to enlarge itself and bind within the hem upon attempted rotation of the hem portion about the roller in one direction of rotation.

4. A shade structure comprising a roller and a web, said web including a hem to receive the roller, a transverse seam at the hem providing a longitudinal abutment, an expandable clutch element mounted upon the roller and including a free edge in contact with the longitudinal abut ment of the hem for precluding relative rotation between the hem and the roller.

5. A shade structure comprising a roller and a web, said web including a hem to receive the roller, a transverse seam at the hem providing a longitudinal abutment, an expandable clutch element mounted upon the roller and including a free edge in contact with the longitudinal abutment of the hem for precluding relative rotation between the hem and the roller, said clutch element being in the form of a curved sheet having opposed spaced edges in substantial parallelism with the roller axis, the space between said edges being of a depth and width sufiicient to receive the transverse seam and the longitudinal abutment of the hem.

6. A shade structure comprising a roller and a web, said web including a hem at each of its ends to receive the roller, a transverse seam at the hem providing a longitudinal abutment, an expandable clutch element mounted upon the roller and including a free edge in contact with the longitudinal abutment of the hem for precluding relative rotation between the hem and the roller, said clutch element being in the form of a curved sheet having opposed spaced edges in substantial parallelism with the roller axis, the space between said edges being of a depth and width sufiicient to receive the transverse seam and the longitudinal abutment of the hem.

'7. A shade structure comprising a roller and a Web, said web including a hem to receive the roller for suspension of the web therefrom, a seam at the hem constituted of a plurality of web thicknesses running lengthwise of the hem and transversely of the web, a clutch in the form of a curved flexible sheet having marginal edges running lengthwise of the roller in substantial parallelism with the roller axis, said sheet being curved about a portion only of the roller circumference, the width of the sheet being reduced to provide a space between the marginal edges of the sheet when the latter is contracted about thexroller; means fixing'but one of the marginal .edgestfof. theflexible sheet to the roller lengthwiser-thereof, leaving the other marginal edge freelto" engage the hem seam as the hem en- 'circles-ithe rollerand its attached flexible sheet, with the seam resting substantially against the roller within the space between the marginal edges of the flexible sheet, the engagement of the hem :seam with the free edge of said sheet serving: to unwind'and expand said sheet relative totheroller and within the hem, to increase the frictional contact between the hem and the outer surface of the frictional sheet progressively upon attempted rotation of the web about the roller in one direction.

8. A shade structure comprising a roller and a web, said web including a hem to receive the roller for suspension of the web therefrom, a seam at the hem constituted of aplurality of Web thicknesses running lengthwise of the hem and transversely of the web, a clutch in the form of a curved flexible sheet having marginal edges running lengthwise of the roller in substantial parallelism with the roller axis, said sheet being curved about the roller, the width'of the sheet being reduced to provide a space between the marginal edges of the flexible sheet when the latter is fully contracted about the roller, means fixing the flexible sheet to the roller lengthwise thereof leaving at least one marginal edge of the sheet free to shift relative to the roller surface, the seam of the hem being located between said marginal edges so as to abut the free shiftable edge of the flexible sheet, whereby any attempt to rotate the roller Within the hem causes the hem seam to forcefully abut the free edge of the flexible sheet to expand said sheet within the hem and thereby frictionally lock the hem relative to the roller.

9. A shade structure comprising a roller and a web, said web including a hem to receive the roller for suspension of the web therefrom, a seamat the hem constituted of a plurality of web thicknesses running lengthwise of the hem and transversely of the web, a clutch in the form of a curved flexible sheet having marginal edges running lengthwise of the roller in substantial parallelism with the roller axis, said sheet being curved about the roller, the width of the sheet being reduced to provide a space between the marginal edges of the flexible sheet when the latter is fully contracted about the roller, means fixing the flexible sheet to the roller-lengthwise thereof leaving at least one marginal edge of the sheet free to shift relative to the roller surface, the seam of the hem being located between said marginal edges so as to abut the free shiftable edge of the flexible sheet, whereby any attempt to rotate the roller within the hem causes the hem seam to forcefully abut the free edge of the flexible sheet to expand said sheet within the hem and thereby frictionally lock the hem relative to the roller, the seam at the hem being of a thickness approximating the thickness of the flexible sheet aforesaid.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a shade roller including an overrunning clutch device for precluding rotation of the roller in at least one direction within the hem of a shade web.

11. As a new article of manufacture, a shade roller having a substantially cylindrical body and. opposite ends, and a clutch device for looking a hemmed web to the roller, said clutch device comprising a longtiudinal curved sheet of flexible material fixed to the roller, said sheet having opposed longitudinal edges at least one of which is substantially parallel to the roller axis and free to shift along the roller surface toward the point of fixation of the flexible sheet upon the roller, whereby such shifting of the free edge of the flexible sheet along the roller surface causes the sheet to expand and to thereby increase the eifective diameter of the roller.

127 As a new article of manufacture, a shade roller having a substantially cylindrical body and 10 opposite ends, and a clutch device for looking a hemmed web to the roller, said clutch device 

